Yeah, they are really rare in the Netherlands. I waited at an entry of a badgers' burrow once at dusk. Just laid there very quiet, waiting for the badgers to come out. And there they were: an adult and three youngsters. One of them started sniffing and licking my shoe. Now that was really really cool !
My daughter went to a nature reserve in South Africa this year with some friends. A honey badger wandered into their picnic and started sniffing at a guy's toes. Then it started nibbling them.
The game warden said, "Don't do anything, or he'll claw your nadgers off." The guy had to sit still and wait for the HB to lose interest and wander off again.
Bizarrely, my daughter is planning to return next year to do ranger training.
So look at these Barn Owl chicks. Aren´t they cute? I found them on an attic of a chrurch in Romania. The people of the church were very proud, because having Barn Owls in your church means good luck and prosperity. Scaring them away means bad bad bad luck to the whole community!
^^Those Romanians are right, Jeronimooo. Barn Owls are good luck (unless you're a mouse). When I'm recovered, I'd be glad of your recommendations for where to go in Romania for wildlife. It's top of my list to visit before it all gets turned into part of the featureless Euro-farm.
Great owl, Anoukvdm. There's a page of audio recordings here
Just let me know, W. I'll be glad to tell were I went and what my experiences were. I like these eastern European countries a lot: Bulgaria, Macedonia and Bosnia-Hercegovina are great too. My "to-do-list" still contains Albania and Montenegro...
A friend just texted me asking if i remembered a landlady from our local pub... "the woman with bear feet". Lol, took me a while to realise what he meant! :-)
Meanwhile, the Redwings have arrived in the garden. Every year, they come en masse to strip the holly tree of its berries. It usually takes 3 or 4 days; sometimes they're done by the end of November, but this year everthing seems late.